SALTAIRE found a new hero as Mohammed Munir struck five fours in the penultimate over to give his side their first win of the season against fellow strugglers Farsley to spark understandable celebrations at a windswept Roberts Park.

The match appeared to have swung Farsley's way when Munir arrived at the wicket after Yorkshire second team all-rounder James Wainman had taken two wickets in the 47th over to leave Saltaire needing 25 to win with only three wickets left.

Eighteen were required from two overs when Munir faced Neil Laidlaw, but the No 9 batsman needed only one over to complete the task, striking the first three balls and the last two for four to put the seal on a three-wicket win as Saltaire chased down the visitors' challenging 266-6.

"This victory is just what we needed," said Munir. "I felt confident going out there – I know my capabilities. There were a couple of edges, but they all count. You flash hard and off it goes, but I also had two shots over extra cover."

Delighted skipper Richard Spry said: "Fantastic – I am over the moon. We got off to a really good start and set a good platform with a good tempo and positive batting.

"We were slight favourites with about ten overs to go and then lost two wickets, but five boundaries in one over was absolutely sensational. Munir was brilliant."

Saltaire are still bottom with 52 points, but now only five points behind Farsley and nine points adrift of safety.

Spray said: "This was a must-win match against one of the teams around us in the table and containing two Yorkshire professionals – Dan Hodgson and James Wainman. We were in danger of being cast adrift, but this result puts us back in the mix and proves we can compete at this level. I believe we can cause some surprises as the season goes on."

Saltaire's victory overshadowed a fine innings of 147 off 150 balls by Hodgson, who was out off the last ball of the innings. The Yorkshire second team wicketkeeper-batsman hit 23 fours and one six and shared a crucial third-wicket partnership of 111 with Greg Pickles (44).

Saltaire began confidently as Rashid Ayub (27) and Shoukat Ali – one of three half-century makers with 61, including three sixes – put on 91 for the first wicket.

Tariq Mehboob (55) and Asif Ayub (61) carried on the momentum and, although Wainman dismissed both Ayub and Adeel Ashraf in one over, that only let in Munir to deliver the knockout blows.

Disappointed Farsley captain Mark Harrison, still recovering from a knee operation, said: "Credit to Saltaire, they deserved to win, but we should have been more disciplined in the field. The fatal errors were lack of concentration on our part. It is something we need to rectify very quickly. There are no excuses – we are in a massive scrap and we need to improve.

"Dan Hodgson was at a different level, but we let him down in the second half of the game."